Lifestyle Quickies!

posted by Jay -

Apr 27, 2018

These days we’re always hearing about workers wanting the perk of being able to work from home on occasion, but do people really prefer their home over an office? Well, yes and no.

A new survey finds that while 82% of people say being able to work from anywhere helps them with their work-life balance, 62% of people actually still prefer to work in the office, and that goes up to 65% for those 18 to 24.

But while a lot of people may prefer the office, they’d still like the optionof working from home. In fact, the poll finds that 66% of people would love to be able to work form home occasionally but aren’t able to do so, and only 36% of people say their workplaces support them working from home any time and anywhere they want.

And executives may want to consider giving employees the option because it may translate to better productivity. The survey finds that 88% of workers believe working from home increases not only their productivity, but their creativity and job satisfaction as well. What’s more, 61% don’t believe working for home affects their ability to disconnect from the office.

While buying a new home or finding a new place to live can be exciting, it seems that a lot of people are staying put where they are simply because they don’t want to deal with moving. A new survey finds that while 46% of people have either recently moved, or plan to move in the next year, a lot of people would like to pick up and if it weren’t such a pain.

The truth is, 67% of people say they would definitely or probably move if moving wasn’t such a hassle. What’s more, 66% of people say they feel stuck in a home they don’t like because they don’t want to deal with moving, while 49% have stayed with a bad roommate just so they don’t have to go through the process of moving.

As for why people are actually moving, 37% say it's because they found something more affordable. Other tops reasons to move include:

While most of us are probably looking forward to the day when we can retire and no longer head to the office, it seems more and more people don’t expect that to happen as early as they may have hoped.

A new poll by CareerBuilder finds that 53% of workers 60 and over say they will likely postpone retirement, with more men (57%) than women (48%) saying so. And that’s not all, 40% don’t expect to retire until they are at least 70 or older.

So, why are so many people planning to work into their 60s and 70s? Money, of course. The truth is, 24% of people don’t actually know how much they need to save in order to retire. In fact, when asked how much they thought they needed to retire, folks responded:

Less than $500,000: 20%

$500,000 to less than $1 million: 31%

$1 million to less than $2 million: 14%

$2 million to less than $3 million: 5%

$3 million or more: 7%

And it seems there are plenty of people who aren’t dong anything to make their retirement happen. Overall, 23% of workers 55 and over say they do not participate in 401(k), IRA or other retirement plan, with that number going up to 40% for those 18 to 34.

When you’re starting a little DIY project and need some guidance, you can count on the Internet to teach you how to tile a shower or remove wallpaper. And it turns out, you can also learn how to deliver your own baby, which came in handy for 22-year-old first-time mom Tia Freedmanlast month.

Freedman has one of the most insane birth stories ever and it started with her not knowing she was pregnant until the third trimester. And while in that final trimester, she had already planned a trip to Germany to visit a friend, so she decided to still go and figures she had plenty of time to get back home before the baby’s birth. But she was wrong.

While on the 14-hour flight, she started having cramps, but blew it off because she’s a vegetarian and she had eaten salmon on the plane. But by the time she landed in Istanbul, Turkey for her 17-hour layover, she was in so much pain she just wanted to get to her hotel room and sleep, so once she cleared customs – which took FOREVER – she thought she might be in labor, and she was right!

Freedman got to her hotel room and realized that baby was coming NOW, so “in true millennial form” she looked up how to deliver a baby on YouTube. She ran a bath and had a water birth for her son. She even delivered her placenta and looked up how to cut the umbilical cord without tools (sterilized shoelaces, BTW!)

There was a little confusion when Freedman showed back up at the airport with a fresh baby for her flight to Germany the next morning, but after they realized she wasn’t trying to smuggle a baby, Turkish Airlines sent mama and baby to the hospital to be checked out. Then the airline treated them to a two-week stay at a hotel in Turkey until they could fly home safely.

When your friends post photos of themselves after running a marathon, or even a 5K, do you think you wish you could do that too? For all of us who sit on the couch and think about getting up and training for a race, we’ve finally found the one worth trying.

On May 5th in Boerne, Texas, they’re havingThe Inaugural Boerne 0.5K - yep, you heard that right. It’s basically a third of a mile or just a few city blocks and that makes it much more likely we could actually finish it.

But it’s not only a manageable fitness feat, the race also gives runners a free pint of beer at the starting line. Then halfway through, runners can fuel up at the coffee and donut station, and to finish it off, runners get another free pint at a local brewery. And for a $25 donation, you don’t even have to run, they’ll shuttle you to the finish line! So who’s ready to start training?